Designed for accuracy and marksmanship, the Hunter is one of the top ranged characters. Crossbows and guns are the main weapon used by a Hunter. With such strong ranged attacks, the Hunter is cursed with a weak melee defense.
With such great damage done from a distance, a Hunter focuses solely on damage done or DPS (damage per second)|All of the damage does makes them sort of a one trick pony, they only can be a DPS character. As a Hunter you are given several different types of abilities. One is the ability to track all different kinds of creatures on your mini map. If you can attack it... you can track it as a Hunter. You also learn how to use traps to your advantage. These traps can damage, slow or even entangle its enemies. If they time it right they also have a spell that allows them to fake their own death and convince their enemies that they are dead.
In need of a more detailed guide to help with your Hunter? Visit this Hunter Leveling Guide for more information.
But out of all of their abilities, by far the best is their ability to connect with the beasts in Azeroth. Hunters have the capability to tame dozens of different types of Beasts. The beasts will then follow you where ever you go, assisting you in your cause.
Cloth, Leather and Mail are the only three types of armor a Hunter can wear. The Mail armor gives you much more protection from attack than any other ranged character, but still will leave you weak against a close quarter fight. Like other ranged characters, the gear for Hunters is there to increase your abilities, not protect you (but it does a better job than leather and cloth).
Having the ability to hold more than one weapon has caused a bit of a controversy for Hunters. Some people thing that two single handed weapons will give you better stats, while others feel that a strong two handed weapon is better. In theory this works, but in my research many of the two handed weapons have equal stats to two of the single handed weapons.
Hunter's are not tanks! Thus you must be mindful of how much threat you generate as a Hunter. If you generate too much threat with your powerful attacks, you can find yourself being attacked by your enemy. One simple way to manage your threat level is the use of Misdirect. This spell allows you to place the threat you create onto another friendly character. The best thing to do while leveling is to Misdirect on your pet, creating a barrier between you and your enemies. If you are raiding or in a PvP battle, make sure you use the spell on your tank and not on any of the other players.
Hunter's obviously are strong at a distance, but when it comes to close quarter combat, they fail miserable. With really only one melee attack, Hunters have a high probability of dying if an enemy gets to close or targets them. They also have an area of their attack where they are most weak. There is a certain distance where neither their melee nor ranged attacks will work. You will want to discover this distance as soon as possible and avoid it. Always remember distance away from your enemies is bette.
Check out this Hunter Leveling Guide for a more detailed look into being a Hunter.
A Hunter's pet is not a passive, easy going pet that simply will follow you everywhere. With customizable talents and attacks, your pet can be a huge advantage in any fight. As long as you feed them regularly, your pet will be an extremely loyal and useful partner.
No matter what you are looking for from your pet (speed, strength, stamina) you will find that there is a type of pet out there that will best serve your needs. Many of the popular pets are: Lions, Raptors, Bears, Spiders, Wolfs and Hornets. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses. Each major city for both factions has what is called a stable master. This character allows you to stable a certain number of pets and call them to you whenever you are in need of their services.
Your pet will gain a certain percentage of the experience that you gain when leveling. suggest that when taming a beast to be your pet, choose one that is close to your own level so you can level together. It will be nearly impossible for you to tame a pet that is a higher level, so don't waste your time.
With only one spec (DPS) Hunters still have three talent trees to put their talent points into. This gives them a wide range of options when choosing their talents. It all is based on your personal preferences of what you want to do with your Hunter. Out of all of the talents, Marksman gives you the best overall DPS numbers. The damage from the talents in Marksman are strong and you rarely miss your mark.
If you are interested in leveling a Hunter Beast Master will be your best bet. It gives more power to your beast rather than yourself, and it gives you more control over them as well. Using your pet as your defense is what you want to do when leveling a Hunter. Have your enemy attack your pet and then you attack your enemy. You can always change your talent tree at anytime by visiting your Hunter trainer.
Like most ranged characters, Hunters are extremely lopsided, having unbelievable strength with their ranged weapons and having little to no strength with their melee weapons. Stay away from your enemies at all cost, use your strengths to your advantage and your strength lies in your ranged attacks. One of the biggest reasons you have a pet is to even out your attacks. While you stay at a distance getting range damage, your pet will do all of your melee damage. Make sure you utilize your ability to track enemies, as well as your traps. Both are extremely useful in many different situations.
